Call This Number to Chat With Random Swedes

Ever wanted to talk to a Swede? Any Swede? Maybe you wondered what they do after their six-hour workday? Or whether IKEA really had the best meatballs? All those questions can be answered by calling +46 771 793 336, Sweden's new national phone number. As the first country in the world with its very own number, the Swedish Tourist Association has set up a Scandinavian phone roulette. Callers from around the world are connected with volunteer Swedish ambassadors, average Carls who sign up with no training to chat about their lives and country. Brave/curious callers get unfiltered access to Swedes, on a line that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the next two months.

"In troubled times, many countries try to limit communication between people, but we want to do just the opposite," Magnus Ling, general secretary and CEO of the Swedish Tourist Association, said in a release. "We are giving our fellow Swedes the opportunity to answer the calls, express themselves and share their views, whatever they might be."

So far, the number has received more than 6,000 calls in 24 hours, with 30 percent coming from the U.S. When Traveler rang to chat with a friendly Swede, an automated voice told us there were too many people calling Sweden, and that we'd have to wait for a bit. If you're bored and want to talk politics, darkness, and the Northern Lights for hours, remember that it's an international number and you may be charged.